Sino-Nepali officials discuss bilateral cooperation

During a high-level meeting, Nepalese and Chinese officials discussed ways to further expand and consolidate cooperation in areas such as trade promotion, investment, and connectivity.

On Friday, the Foreign Ministries of Nepal and China met in Beijing for the 15th time under the Bilateral Diplomatic Consultative Mechanism. Cooperation and economic cooperation were discussed between the two sides, as well as investment, tourism, and connectivity, among other topics.

Progress of different infrastructure development projects were reviewed under China's grant assistance as well as Chinese-contracted projects and agreed to expedite the implementation of the projects so as to complete them in time, according to a statement issued by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs here.

The statement did not mention Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which could not take off even six years after the two countries signed the agreement. During the high-level meeting Bharat Raj Paudyal, Foreign Secretary of Nepal, and Sun Weidong, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, led their respective delegations to the meeting, the statement said.

"The meeting was held in an atmosphere of cordiality and friendship," it said, adding the Vice Minister of China admired Nepal's consistent adherence to the 'one-China’ policy and respect for the five principles of peaceful coexistence.' Foreign Secretary Paudyal appreciated the Chinese policy of non-interference and respect for Nepal's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence, the statement said.